After The Storm
by xTasteTheRaInBoWx
Summary: "Even after a war, you're in here reading,"  Ron looks for Hermione after the final battle and finds her trying to find some quiet space. R/Hr


**This is just a story I thought of after I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows AGAIN. I love Ron and Hermione and so I have been tempted into writing my first R/Hr one shot! **

**DISCLAIMER: J.K Rowling owns all but my imagination and I consider her a demi-god for making these stories possible!**

…**..**

The newly kindled fire warmed Ron's dirtied fingers as he sat on his knees in front of it. The Gryffindor common room was unusually quiet. The only sound was the crackling of the wood in the fireplace as Ron, finally content with the warmth of the fire, stood and moved to sit on the couch. He held back a yawn as he pulled the deluminator from his pocket and examined it. He remembered Christmas Day in the tavern where he had clicked it and heard Hermione's voice. A smile came to his tired face as he thought of his best friend. Looking up, Ron wondered where she was. Harry was asleep up in the boys dormitory, he had been for a few hours now, but Ron hadn't seen Hermione since she told him she was going back down to the Great Hall to see everyone else who remained after the battle.

Ron stood, stretched his arms up above his head and exited onto the Grand Staircase. He made his way down to the first floor, after receiving many greetings from rejoicing paintings, and into the Great Hall. Many people looked at Ron with smiles, exhausted ones at that, but he did not spot the one person he sought out. He saw his mother and Ginny and George sitting together, looking poignant, but also relieved that the war was over. He approached them with a small smile and sat next to his mum on the steps at the front of the Hall.

"Oh, Ronald, I'm so glad to have you, and Harry and Hermione too, alright after all this. Bill and your father are off still checking for Death Eaters. Where has Harry gone?" Molly Weasley looked grim, but there was a comfort in her voice. Losing Fred was something that would never go away, but she remained positive, regardless.

"Harry is catching up on some much needed sleep. Best not disturb him though. The bloke hasn't had a proper night's sleep in a long, long time. But I came down here looking for Hermione…have you seen her?" Ron asked.

Ginny perked up a little, "I thought she was going back up to you? She didn't come?"

"No. I wonder where she might have gone…" Ron thought aloud, thinking.

"If it's any help, she said she was going for some _much_ needed relaxation right before she left," Ginny chimed in. Then Ron stood up.

"I know where she went," Ron walked off towards the Grand Staircase, heading for the second floor.

Just as he suspected, Ron heard a familiar voice humming a melodic tune as he entered the Library. There, sitting at the table, Hermione was reading.

"Thought I might find you here. Even after a war, you're in here reading," Ron smirked, stepping into the familiar place. Hermione looked up, her eyes looking calm, but heavy with fatigue. She smiled at him as he stood with his hands in his pockets.

"I was just trying to remember why it is I love reading so much," She half-joked. Ron chuckled and shook his head and moved to sit next to her. She was still looking at the book as Ron examined her face. She had rinsed the dirt and blood off, but there was still a dark cut on her bottom lip. Under her eyes were purple bags of exhaustion which had been under her eyes for months. Her unruly hair was pulled up into a bun and he could see the scar on her throat left by Bellatrix's dagger.

"You look bloody drained, I don't see how you can be reading, 'mione," Ron shook his head. She stopped and looked at him. He just took the book from her hands, looked at the cover, and set it on the table, "_Hogwarts: A History_? How many times have you read this one?" Ron chuckled.

She took the book back, shaking her head, "_Enough_ times, Ronald. Harry still asleep?" She changed the subject as she reopened the book.

"Yeah. Bloke deserves a good sleep. I just came to find you, I wanted to talk." Ron said this with a bolder tone than she expected. She looked at him with a blank look; she knew what he was talking about. "When we kissed in the Room of Requirement, it sort of, got me thinking about me and you…us."

"What about us, Ron?" She smiled when she asked this. Her soft tone reassured him and he continued.

"Well, what are _we_?"

Hermione set the book down and looked into his sleepy gaze, "Ron, we're a team. We're best friends. We're complete opposites. And, we're completely the same in the sense that we both are too stubborn to admit much about how we feel." Hermione gave a shrug and a small smile covered her face.

"What if I wasn't too stubborn? What if I told you how I feel?"

"Well, how _do_ you feel?" There she went, speaking back to him as if she were a therapist.

"I love you," He said, "I've loved you for a long time."

Her eyes welled up and she grinned, "I know…Why do you think I get so cross with you all the time? Because I love you too, Ron." She replied leaning towards him. He smiled too and cupped the back of her neck with his large hand and pulled her in for a kiss. He was soft and gentle, remembering the small cut on her bottom lip. She moved closer and wrapped her arms around his neck as he swung one leg over the bench to face her. She did the same and moved onto his lap as his arms moved around her waist. Her soft hands cupped his face as their soft kisses grew in intensity.

When they finally broke for air, they pressed their foreheads together as they tried to catch their breaths. Her brown eyes seemed to glow in the dusty light coming in from the east windows.

"I don't know why I didn't do that earlier." Ron held her close and she rested her head on his shoulder, still sitting on his lap.

She laughed light-heartedly and pulled back to look at him, "Me either. But it doesn't matter now that everything is over. All that matters is that you _did_ do it. It's about time too! You're so stubborn Ronald."

"I'm stubborn? _I'm_ not stubborn compared to you Granger!"

"Oh please! You're as thick as they come!"

"You would know!"

"Ronald! I am not thick!"

"Are too!"

"Are not! You're the thick one!"

"You are!"

"No! You are!"

"Will both of you just hush up and quit bickering? The both of you are driving me out of my wits," hollered the shrill voice of the ghost of the Grey Lady, who was known for hanging around the Library.

"Fine…but only if you're willing to do it, too." Ron agreed. Hermione sighed and slapped his broad chest.

"Ronald! Stop acting like a git!" She was dead serious and Ron finally gave in and nodded, putting his pride aside.

"Okay, fine." Ron looked at her and smiled, "You're not that thick. Sorry."

"Ron? Hermione? Is that you?" The ghost of Sir Nicholas came through the wall next to the Grey Lady and hovered in front of the pair.

"Hi, Sir Nicholas!" Hermione said politely, as always, to the nearly headless specter.

"I hardly even recognized you two! How much you've grown! I must say I did miss you so this year. I hardly have anyone to talk to in the Library these days!" Nicholas joked, "I see you two have finally come round to eachother! It's about time, too! The other ghosts and I were betting on when it would happen. Congratulations, friends!" He spoke with a chuckle as he floated off out of the library.

"Jolly ol' chap, isn't he?" Ron asked, rubbing Hermione's back.

"Always has been. Always will be." Hermione agreed.

"Even the _ghosts_ were betting when we'd get together. That's just sad!"

"Sad as it may be, I say we go up to the common room, I miss the common room." Hermione said, climbing off Ron's lap. He stood with her and they started off towards the Grand Staircase.

They made their way up several flights of stairs until coming to the fat lady, who guarded the entrance, "Password?" She asked lazily.

"What? You still want a bloody password? Half the school is blown up!"

"Oh, hush, Ron! I believe the password this year is Croaking Pixie." Hermione said.

"Enter!"

They entered the familiar room decorated in red and gold, filled with the warmth of the fire Ron had started earlier, and empty, to their pleasure. They walked towards the couch and flopped onto it, sitting close together, their hands intertwined. Hermione leaned her head on Ron's shoulder and sighed deeply. He looked at the girl he'd known for seven years and smiled at how far they'd come. The first time he met her she was all brains, bushy brown hair, and big front teeth. Now she was brains, beauty, and brave. More brave than he'd ever seen her. Having gone through everything they did to get where they were, Ron couldn't have been more proud of her.

"Hey, 'Mione?"

"Hm?" She responded, her voice sounding content.

"Why do you like me…and not someone else? Someone like Harry?" Ron began, "I'm just curious."

"Well, we _are_ completely different, but that's what draws me to you. I _love_ you because you are the way you are. You're funny, you're brave, you're infuriating, you're strong," She touched his chest and he drew in a quick breath, "And you treat me like I'm a piece of glass. You would never let anything happen to me. That's why." She said honestly, her face close to his, her hand still on his chest, "Why me?" She reciprocated his question.

"Why _not_ you? You're smart, caring, bossy, beautiful, and you play by your rules. You never let anyone stop you from voicing how you feel. Not even Umbridge." Ron chuckled, kissing her head.

"I just hope that someday, I can find my parents in Australia, tell them who I am and what I did, and hopefully have my dad walk me down the aisle one day." Hermione said hopefully.

"I can't wait to watch you walk towards me with him." Ron winked before kissing her lips. The kiss was slow and loving. Ron never wanted to stop kissing her, as if he wanted to make up for all the lost time. As the kiss escaladed, there were footsteps, and suddenly, Harry was standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking tired.

"Oi, do I have to tell you two to quit snogging again?" He muttered.

"Harry!" Hermione stood up and went to give him a hug.

"Hi, Hermione, you act like it's been ages." He yawned, returning her embrace.

"Well, I'm just glad to see you after all that's gone on, and well…everything has just made me sentimental I guess." Hermione said sheepishly. Ron wrapped his arm around her.

"Feel any better, Mate?" Ron asked, patting Harry on the shoulder with his free hand.

"Loads. It was the best three hours of my life, honestly." Harry muttered, still shaking off sleep, "and for the first time in sixteen years my scar hasn't hurt in my sleep. I just feel so much more stress free!" There was a grin on Harry's face and Ron and Hermione joined in.

"Good. Say, are you hungry?" Ron asked, leading Hermione to the door, Harry in tow, "I say we go eat with the others."

"Starving. Let's go guys."

And so the trio walked down to the Grand Hall, sat at one of the long tables with Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, George, Nevil, and several others and had the breakfast of a lifetime.

-fin

**Sorry it's kinda lame! But I had to get some Harry Potter fic out of my system! REVIEW!**


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